"D" the Ranter is Colorado's #1 Multi-sport MLBlogger. The Rant is written from a fan's perspective and you can count on "D" to tell you exactly how it is. Tried and Tested…There's a reason the Rant kicks ass in Colorado.

I was looking forward to this game as I knew it wouldn’t be nearly as crowded as it has been the last few games. As soon as they opened the gates Mike and I headed for the Pavilion. I was gravitating over to my usual spot and noticed a baseball sitting under a bleacher.

This Coors Field rarity is know as an Easter Egg and believe it or not it’s my first at Coors Field. The Coors Field Ushers unfortunately do a great job of picking up ALL the baseballs before we get inside and somehow they missed this one.

My first ball of the year…An Easter Egg…I’m ok with that. Something new right?

Rockies were on the field and batting practice was in full swing. Ball two was tossed up to me by Ubaldo Jimenez as the Rockies were leaving the field. I gave it to a little girl who was with her mom leaning on the railing.

Dodgers took the field and not long after I was tracking my third ball. In the chase for the ball I found myself in the tunnel and realized I didn’t have a chance at the ball as it was going to land inside the pavilion not inside the tunnel.

I’ve learned not to give up at that point as any number of things can happen, and did.

The guy who attempted to catch this homer let it bounce out of his glove and it dropped down into the tunnel right in front of me and I snapped it up. Game three of the season and still no balls caught on the fly😦

I gave that ball away to a little boy standing close by with his family.

That would be it for batting practice.

As we walked by ROOT SPORTS I took this shot of R-LUV with Tom Helmer in the background.

R-Luv got to sit in the pavilon today so she gave me her ticket which wound up being in the first row of right field, prime home run territory. No luck, however during the very next game Todd Helton hit a homerun to that exact location.

George and Tracy pre-game. Here are your Rockies warming up.

Tulo started today’s game with a .000 batting average. In the fourth inning all that would change, Tulo gets his first hit of the season off of Kershaw with two out.

In the fifth inning with two out Chris Iannetta decided it was his turn.

A few random game shots.

Dan and Emily during the seventh inning stretch.

Spilly tossing his warm-up ball into the right field crowd between innings.

Alannah X ran into a friend from school and the two of them got to watch the game together. I promised I’d post their picture.

Props to Chacin for pitching 7 scoreless innings. Rockies beat the Dodgers at Coors field with a final score of 3-0.

Mike, R-Luv and I hung around after the game. Here are a few shots of the ROOT SPORTS crew doing the post game report.

Check out the video of Tom tossing out his T-Shirts

A few entries back I mentioned that I wanted to interview a Rockies fan every other game or so. Well I had someone step up to the plate and volunteer, I like that.

Her name is Katerina and I first met her a few months ago while standing in line outside of Coors Field waiting to purchase Rockies tickets with Hunter and Mylee. She mentioned she had read the Rockpile Rant and really liked the blog Purple Row.

We talked about the Rockies while we waited in line.

Very cool lady, HUGE Rockies fan and my first fan interview of 2011.

1. How did you become a Rockies fan?

Becoming a Rockies fan was a choice I made four years ago this month. Wow, four years! But how and why: I just decided I wanted to follow baseball and learn more about it. The choice for the team I would root for was obvious, because the Rockies were the home team, and not to mention their colors were purple. I’m the only Rockies fan in my family, so I guess that makes me the purple and black sheep, but at least they raised me to root for the home team, and none other.

I hate to be classified with the ’07 bandwagon fans, but truth is: it was during that run when I first realized I loved them, and during that first offseason when I realized I had an addiction. It gets worse and worse, or rather better and better each year. It’s been a great ride, and I feel honored to be living during such a great time to be a Rockies fan.

Who is your favorite Rockies player (current or past) and why?

My favorite player is Troy Tulowitzki. He always was, since his rookie year, and it’s awesome to say that he always will be, because of his contract extension.

I chose Tulo because he is a great player, defensively and offensively. Also, two had been my favorite number, and the fact that he was a rookie that seemed to be staying for a while certainly helped that choice. But the greatest reason I chose him was the fact that he wants to play the game the right way, and wants to be the best at it. I can relate to his competitiveness and passion. And Tulo wants to win. When he showed loyalty by signing to stay with Colorado forever he was cemented even more as my favorite player.

Yeah, his song and hair might be ugly sometimes, or most of the time, but it’s awesome to be stuck with Tulo as a favorite player.

Favorite Rockies moment or memory.

Wow, only one? That’s hard.

I have to go with having mine and my family’s ears glued to the radio during Rocktober. That streak was just so awesome, and listening together, staying up way past our bedtimes is a classic memory I’ll never forget.

I’ve had a lot of good memories next to the radio these past few years.

Near seconds are attending a Rox game at AT&T Park last August, appearing on and being interviewed for Rockies All Access Tulo show last spring, and being at 2009 Game Four in the bottom of the 8th before Huston Street broke our hearts.

I feel the best is yet to come…very soon.

If you could have any job with the Rockies organization what would you like to do?

If I would choose any job in the organization, I’d work on the Rockies Magazine staff. Even proofreading every issue would be cool.

Either that or be the person who secretly switches out the humidor-ized baseballs for ones that haven’t been in the humidor, and sneaks the “juiced balls” into the Giants ball bag when they come to Coors Field.

Alright, that last one is a joke.

Thank again Katerina, great job. I’ll change-up the questions each time.

I had a few more pictures but MLBlogs started acting up again so we’ll call this one done.

I’m “D” The Rockpile Ranter, gett’n by, still trying to catch one on the fly….D

This game was my first day game of the season. Day games are difficult for me to attend because I’m usually working. However today’s day game happened to fall on my day off so Giant Todd and I (not being square)had no excuse but to be there.

I made it in time for batting practice and Giant Todd showed up just before the game started. The Rockies didn’t take outdoor batting practice today so it was just the Giants out in the sunshine taking swings.

I managed to snag one ball at today. It was a homer that I realized was heading for the tunnel so I was the first to duck in there and snagged the ball as it was bouncing around the cement walls.

About the time Robert realized where the ball was heading he looked over and I was already there. He didn’t like that and let me know it. I thought it was funny.

Check out Mustache Giambi and Spilborghs

Normally I poke fun of guys in skirts. But guys in skirts sport’n axes I have no beef with.

Here’s Ubaldo doing what I call the “Pre-Game Walk of Shame”.

(It’s not really a Walk of Shame, but they sure make it seem like it.)

Today I was feeling lucky so I took a chance and stayed close to the field where the Rockies warm up. When Cargo was finished his routine he walked over and was kind enough to autograph my baseball on the sweet spot.

Thanks Cargo ! Official Plate washer? Is this cosidered a service industry job? This dude not only had a cool shirt he had something moving on his right sleeve.

I had to take a closer look.

Grasshoppers were everywhere..

I call this picture Hopper watching Hawper

Get it?

Starting catcher Chris Iannetta sharing some sharpie luv.

Then as quick as he arrived he was gone.

There was color everywhere.

The game was beginning to start so Giant Todd and I headed over to our seats over in the Rockpile. As we were beginning to sit I looked down at Robert and Dan and it looked as if they were trying to tell us something.

We finally figured out they were trying to let GT and I know there were two seats in the front row of the pavilion we could use.

When we got down there Dan took my camera and I donned my glove.

From this point forward all the pictures in this entry were taken by Dan

I believe Dan was helping me free up my hands in the hopes of snagg’n a homerun ball so he took the pictures for most of the game.

His eye is a bit different than mine and it was really cool checking out the action pictures he took with my camera.

Here’s a shot of us all in our seats. Had a homerun been hit anywhere close to us I believe Dan may have backed off a bit and maybe let me go for it. I can tell you 100% for sure, even though Robert has snagged 50ish game homerun balls, he and I would have battled for it…That’s Robert.

I’ve mentioned this to Robert before and a few other people. Whether Robert realizes it or not I’m eventually his replacment🙂

We both have VW busses, beards and the hair. We’re both super competitive when it comes to ballhawking. We both chug around cameras searching for the perfect action picture.

Shoot, even my middle name is Robert.

Think about it? 🙂

The game today had a totally different feel. Rockies fans have a bit of a swagger on a day we know Ubaldo’s on top of that sand. The opportunity to swagger is new to Rockies fans so excuse us as we get used to it and don’t get mad if we bump into you.

I believe before the start of this game Ubaldo had previously won eleven games this season pitching the day after a Rockies loss so that tidbit of information had me feeling confident.

With Helton on first up comes Rockies current “King of Swing” Carlos Gonzalez.

See Ya! Mora comes up but then goes down…Scary Messing around with Robert’s camera.

Chill’n

x

For Rockies fans this game was sweet justice for the loss the day before. Rockies split this mini two game series with a 6-1 win over the Giants.

After the game Giant Todd wasn’t hanging around for the celebration so Mike and I headed over to the Post Game show to cheer with the rest of the Rockies fans.

Tom of FSN told the crowd he wasn’t allowed to jump up on the ledge anymore so he took off out of his seat and came running around the corner and started Hi-5ing everyone in the crowd.

When I got home Joy had posted these pictures of Mike and I. These pictures are actual shots of her TV.

Thank you Joy !

Props to Dan for taking some sweet pictures and giving Giant Todd and I the opportunity to hang out with y’all in the first row.

No game homerun catch for me this time. The said baseball pursuit continues…

My next entry is for Goose Gossage Day in Colorado Springs..Look for it soon.

When I woke up Saturday morning I was still amped from yesterday’s baseball experience.

Game two of the Rockies vs the Mariners was today at noon and Isotopes Park was opening two hours early.

One of the things you learn when you attend Rockies batting practices(or most teams for that matter), is that when the previous game was an evening game and the next game is an early one, it’s rare for the batting cages to be out on the field. Usually In this case the players take batting practice inside.

Every now and then the planets align and you get treated to a early BP following an evening game.

Being that I’m nobody special the planets didn’t align for me and the playing field was empty. That’s ok, that gave me the opportunity to take some pictures and work on snagg’n some autographs.

After I scoped out the park it seemed the place to be for getting autographs was leaning against the rails along the tunnel that leads into the innards of the stadium.

I had arrived early enough to secure a decent spot and I can tell you being tall and having long arms really helps in situations like this.

As I waited leaning on the railing I watched Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton walk in and out of the tunnel several times barely looking up and never stopping to sign. Moments later I stood there and witnessed Tulowitzki do the same thing.

Jason Giambi walked out of the tunnel.

Then he stopped and signed for one lucky kid. I refuse to pass judgement on what I witnessed because it’s early on in the season and as I’ve mentioned before the best time to get autographs is the early part of spring training.

Also I’ve seen those same guys stop and sign many times. Most of getting autographs is luck and it boils down to being a the right place on the right day at the right time.

But as always…. “I Calls ’em as I sees ’em”

The first player kind enough to stop and autograph a baseball for me was Tommy Everidge.

Tommy plays first base for the Mariners.

This is Orbit the Isotopes mascot…. A real gender bender here as nobody knows what the hell he/she/it is. Classy as always EY Jr stopped to sign for the fans.

I finally was able to get Aaron Cook to sign my Rockies magazine. It’s the one where he’s wearing an apron grilling.

Clint Barmes making the rounds.

I mentioned to Clint at Rockies Fest I’d be at the game in Albuquerque and when he saw me he looked up, smiled and said “Hey”.

Jeff Francis was being really cool and stayed and signed for everyone.

I think to myself…”Holy crap, now there are two Rockies home run balls sitting in there untouched”.

From that moment forward with the Rockies comfortably in the lead the game was over for me. I found myself staring at the batter’s eye thinking about those two baseballs. I was talking to my buddy Jack and mentioned the baseballs and the fact that they were just sitting there untouched.

I realized at that point that I couldn’t leave Isotopes stadium without those two home run baseballs in my possession.

Jack and I got up and walked over to the batter’s eye and started to scope it out from all angles. We decided there were three possible ways into that pot of gold.The first one would require me running along the front of the outfield in gravel with total exposure from the front.

The second would require me hopping a railing and dropping down into the batter’s eye. This one had good cover but a harder escape as a climb back up was involved.

The railing I would have to hop over and drop down from was to the right of Jack pictured here with hottie Marge Simpson.

The third possible way into the batter’s eye would be to come in from the left as the batter sees it. That required two fence hops in and two fence hops out and had a little more visibility than I was comfortable with.

Here’s another view of the batter’s eye and the good sized crowd sitting on the berm.

Isotopes park has amusment rides for kids, I thought that was a nice touch.

I have to say Albuquerque is a fun city with nice people. I also really enjoyed Isotopes Park. I can say this because after this weekend I officially own this Park.

The whole drive down from Nederland Colorado to Albuquerque I had a good feeling. Good things tend to happen when I have that good feeling .

Isotopes Park is a cool little AAA stadium which is home to the Albuquerque Isotopes. If you’re a Simpsons fan you probably know the Simpsons live in Springfield and they have a baseball team named the Isotopes.

So Isotopes Park has a Simpsons theme.

The first game against the Mariners was on Friday at 5pm. I gave the Isotopes front office a jingle to find out what time they open the gates and I was told the park would open 2 1/2 hours early.

Opening that early would allow me to catch most of the Rockies and all of the Mariners batting practice and I like those odds. The extra BP time would end up being a good thing as I tied my own personal record for snagging baseballs in one game.

My total for the day was six baseballs. Of the six three were caught and three were snagged on the roll. The number of balls today wasn’t really important. What was important was who hit the balls.

BP homer number one was hit by Ian Stewart and snagged as it rolling down the berm and was given away to a little boy.

Ball number two was also snagged on a roll and was smoothly handed off to another lucky little boy. That ball was hit by Todd Helton and was the first of Helton’s BP homers I’ve ever been able to snag because I usually stand in left field.

Ball number three was caught on the bounce right by the outfield fence. Ryan Spilborghs hit this ball. Here’s the video.

Ball number four was a monster hit from Jason Giambi and I caught it straight up. That ball landed in my glove a bit off the mesh and believe me my hand felt it.

Ball number five was a Ken Griffey Jr home run that I caught and Krista managed to get on video. Griffey wasn’t out hitting for long and I didn’t get his autograph.

Catching Griffey’s BP homer was as cool as it gets for a ballhawk.

Here’s the Ken Griffey Jr ball. It’s perfect except for one bat mark. I have no idea who hit BP homer number six but it was snagged on the roll and given away to another lucky kid.

Here’s video of a ball I caught and the dude in the white Rockies jersey(not me) knocked it out of my hand. He did that to several people throughout BP.

Some inexperienced ballhawks have no class. No worries, I have no problem letting them know just that 🙂

Robert got to experience the end result of a careless ballhawk himself. Although this guy made a pretty good catch, he was holding a bat and when he caught the ball he turned and the bat clocked Robert in the head.

Let’s just say Robert wasn’t happy.

Here’s Robert and I as batting practice ended.

The Isotopes have their own beer and I thought it tasted pretty good.

Here’s a shot of Robert, me, Jack and Kim chill’n on the grassy berm.

Good size crowd on the berm, all of them trying to snag a baseball.

Props go out to my wife Krista for the great pictures and video. The weather today reached a high of 50 degrees and by the sixth inning it was down right chilly.

I was with a group of four people and the group concencious was it was too damn cold to finish watching this game so we left in the sixth inning and at that point the Rockies were losing.

After the game Robert called me and told me I f’ked up by not staying. The final score wound up being an 11-11 tie.

Yeah..I was a bit upset, but that cold weather was giving me post-season flashbacks.

I can tell you that Isotopes Park of Albuquerque has never seen anyone the likes of me.

I was running up and down that grassy berm chasing baseballs making the local ballhawks look like chumps.

I went in there my first day and owned that ballpark.Stay tuned for game two…Believe it or not it folks it gets better.

This would be the second time this special Rockies season ticket holder event has taken place and the second time we’ve been there. The weather was expected to be in the mid-40’s today and for January in Colorado I’ll take that.

Below are two things that don’t mix.

Let me tell you though I did have to fight of the urge to run out there lay my a-ss on the field and start pumping out snow angels 🙂

Mylee didn’t make Rockies Fest today because she’s been sick for almost a week.

Let me tell you my little girl was extremely sad she couldn’t go so we promised to get her Rockies mini-bat signed for her. We did just that thanks to Huston Street. I chatted with a lot of people yesterday and everyone agreed Street has one of the nicest autographs in baseball today. Hunter and I had a little time to kill before our the “Pitcher and Catcher interviews” so we toured the Press Box.

While inside we each took our photo ops. Me in that chair, high above with the killer view of the field. I tell ya it felt like I was home. I must have been sitting in “The Cowboy’s” chair because it was broke in real good.

As we killed more time and wandered the Club levels of Coors Field we walked up on a huge bin of baseballs.I was half expecting Zack Hample to pop out of them so when he didn’t I asked someone what this was.

I was informed that object was to guess the number of balls in the cage and it you could only enter if you were 15 or younger.

Lets just say the prizes were a baseball collector’s dream. I took a few moments and filled out entries for Hunter and Mylee as did every parent with kids I’m sure.

While we were standing there fixated on the autographed bats I bumped into Joy aka LUVMYROX who was there with her family. I believe they also were killing time waiting for their Outfielder interviews to begin.

A few minutes and a hundred feet later I ran into Marianne aka R-Luv who was also exploring the festivities with her family.

Funny thing and I hope I get this all correct. Joy and Marianne have known each other for years through the Rockies forums. During Rockies games they comment back and forth with each other on the forum but up until today had never physically met.

When I met up with Dan today he mentioned that the two of them finally met each other here at the Rockies Fest.

Ladies I’m sorry I missed that photo opportunity. Congratulations how appropriate that you met at Rockies Fest as you both are HUGE fans….Too Cool.

It was time for us to head up to the Pitcher/Catcher interviews. This took place up in Club level. The MC’s hosting this Q N A were Alana Rizzo (my favorite FSN employee), and that other guy Drew Goodman.

For some reason my hands started to shake every time I tried to take a picture of Alana. The above picture was the clearest of the bunch.

Here’s a shot of most of your Rockies pitchers and catchers for the upcoming 2010 Season.

Most of the questions they asked were a bit regular side. However,I did manage to get video of Jeff Francis when he was asked about his arm and his return.

Here’s the video:

So I guess he’s back. I wish him the best. We need the Canadian.

After the interview session it was autograph time. Our first session was Huston Street and first base coach Glenallen Hill.

As I approached Huston Street I said “Hi I’m Don I write the Rockpile Rant” and I asked him if he was going to continue his MLBlog. Street replied “Yeah, I’d like to”.

You heard it here first.

Then I moved onto Glenallen Hill. As he was signing my mini-bat Hill asked me “What do you do with all those autographs?” I started laughing and said” Mr. Hill you asked me the same exact question a year ago at spring training.”

Hill looked at me and said “You know I don’t ask everyone that question”.

I’m not sure what he meant by that but he was smiling when he said it so I’ll take it as a positive.

Two down and we had time to burn again. As we walked by the Jeff Francis/Rich Dauer autograph session we noticed the line was short. I asked if we could just go through as it was the tail end of this session and the extremely cool Usher let us.

That totally made my day because I just happend to have with me my 2007 Sports Illustrated magazine with Jeff Francis on the cover. Hunter went into the room first and right away Jeff asked him what his name was.

Then Jeff wrote “For Hunter” on the picture and autographed it. Very classy Jeff….Thank you.I handed Jeff my magazine and he looked left at the Usher standing beside him and said “See told you, here’s the first one”. Again I was like WTF? But I think Jeff was making note that every time he autographs for fans someone hands him one of those Sports Illustrated issues.

Least I hope he wasn’t making fun of me..We’re both from Canada?

Rich Dauer signed a picture for Hunter and a mini-bat for me and then we were outta there.

We headed downstairs and while wandering around an Usher asked if we would like Eric Young Jr’s autograph. Without hesitation I said “Yes Sir” and within a few minutes we were standing in front of EY Jr.

Here he is signing Hunters baseball.

EY Jr signing my mini-bat. EY Jr really seemed like he was having a good time. Keep’n it real, I like that.

When we walked out of there directly across from us was the long line for Don Baylor and Randy Flores. I felt a big smile growing because I’ve never managed to get Don Baylor’s autograph before. It’s not that he wouldn’t sign, just really bad timing on my part.

Today Don Baylor signed an Inaugural Year Rockies Magazine with his picture on it for me.

When I handed him the magazine I said “Mr. Baylor you haven’t changed a bit”, He looked up at me and said smiling “Yeah right”. Then he autographed it for me.

Hunter and I hurried upstairs so we could catch the tail end of Matt Belisle’s autograph session..

These plates may not be fine china but I’m sure their worth more than the plates I eat off of. These beauties are a couple of the bat-shovels used to break ground on the Rockies/D-Backs new Spring Training Facility east of Scottsdale last year.I just wanted to show how the MLB labels game used items. Specifically ones from big games.

Notice how they misspelled Tulowitzki’s last name on the first helmet. You can see me Tulo and Coors Field in this picture. This is a special helmet made just for Charlie Hayes who suffered a broken jaw. This is the unsigned original artwork used to make the Coors Field Inaugural year opening day ticket. The World Famous Colorado Rockies Humidor.

Today Hunter and I went to the game with Andy (from spring training) and his son Hazen. This was Hazen’s first batting practice and we were all excited for him.

The line for BP was huge as they were giving away Brad Hawpe T-Shirts.

They usually fit me until the third wash or so.

When we hit the pavilion I headed to my usual spot and within a few minutes Chris Iannetta hit the first BP homer and I tracked it perfectly and made a beautiful catch.

It felt good to catch that ball. I then focused my attention over to Andy, Hazen and Hunter.I was watching a ball that was hit over by Robert’s area and he snagged it off the bounce. Robert turned around and gave that ball to Hazen.

Here is the poor video of it:

That would be one of two baseballs Robert gave to Hazen. Robert…. Andy told me to say thanks for doing that for his boy.

Andy and Hunter were shutout for BP. Hunter told me it was because he was helping Hazen get his🙂

Me, I had one more opportunity for a toss up.

Spilly and Seth Smith had been goofing around in left field and were tossing up a bunch of baseballs to random people.

Normally I don’t raise my glove for toss-ups but they were having fun so I figured what the hell.

Here is video of Seth Smith tossing up a ball:

When Spilly finally tossed one to my area I took a few steps to my right and was positioned perfect for the catch.

I looked behind me real quick (something I do now thanks to BP blockers), and noticed I was positioned in front of a dad and his son who were in the row behind me.

I had a flash of guilt, and backed off leaving the catch for the dad so he could be a hero in front of his son. He bobbled it and somebody else snapped it up.

In hindsight I should have just caught the damn thing and gave it to his kid.

After BP we walked around and watched Ubaldo Jimenez warming up. MULLET OF THE GAME

Here is Todd Helton hang outside of the dugout watching the game.

I was hoping to get a few pictures of Chipper Jones.

So I did.

Here is a shot of Prado. Prado is the dude responsible for ending Alan Embree’s season with one lucky swing.

That sucks, I hope Embree heals and can continue next season. He was doing pretty good for the Rockies lately and that’s a sheety way for a players season to end.

Here are some random pictures.

The Rockies fans argued this call but McLouth was safe.

I think it’s cool that this dude can still do this job. These guys are tough. I got thirsty and my back hurt just watching him lug that thing around.

The elusive Jeff Francis, hang’n with Spilly. He looks ready, when will we see him on the mound?

Carlos Gonzalez

Barmes at bat. One more shot of the gang today. Dexter Fowler Todd Helton We debated waiting around after the the rain delay was called but Andy and I had worked that day and I was exhausted. So we bailed and in the end didn’t miss much other than Embree taking a line drive to the leg and ending his season.

Something had to change from the previous game. Over a dozen missed opportunities to snag a ball. Being right there, so close and having to back off at the last second because someone else happened to be sitting in the perfect position to catch the ball.

Some days it just beez that way, but not today. My first ball was a toss up from Ubaldo Jimenez. Originally I thought it was for Hunter (and it may have been) but he overshot Hunter by 15 feet or so and I nabbed it.

The second ball I snagged was hit by Dexter Fowler I tracked perfectly. The ball bounced off the tip of my glove, deflected onto a bleacher and landed right in front of me. I reached down quickly and nabbed my own blown catch.

It was game on from there. The next two were gloved perfectly and within 15 feet of each other. Chris Iannetta hit one of them.

One was a practice ball and the other ball was one I had been waiting for.

I finally nabbed a 2008 All-Star ball.

No big deal to some snaggers as most of you probaly have one, but it was my first.

A teenage girl asked me for it. I told her she could have a ball but not that one. I reached into my backpack and gave her the practice ball.

Rockies left then the Astros were up and within a few minutes I was tracking another ball. I followed this ball as it sailed about mid-way up the bleachers.

I turned then tripped over the bleacher and caught the ball as I was falling down backwards. It wasn’t pretty (more funny), but I caught that sucker.

I gave that ball to the brother of the teenage girl I had handed the other ball too. That family left happy.

Ball six was about thirty minutes into Astros BP and was a quick dash to the right and perfect catch on the run.

Just as batting practice was about to end some big white guy crushed one out to mid-pavilion about 2/3 of the way up and I was on it perfectly.

At the last second I realized I was up one row too high and I missed as it landed perfectly under the bleacher directly on top my foot.

The whole thing was hidden by the bleacher. Had I danced around in pain people would have wondered what the F’ck was wrong with me so I had to act somewhat normal.

Man, I couldn’t even swear. Me not swearing, I impressed myself.

It was a perfect shot. My first instinct after the white flash was to get that damn ball and as I reached for it a kid in a Rockies jersey scooped it up. I was like “What the” and when I looked up it was Hunter.

It was his only ball of the day and I was glad he got it.

Afterwards we did have a discussion about him not snaggin so close to me and how I don’t like competing against my son for baseballs that I bobble.

I think it looks silly he and I chasing after the same ball,…but anyways.

It was at that point I noticed my shoe was getting tight. That’s not good.

The ball that landed on my foot just happened to have a big H on it.

Some may say that “H” stands for Houston. I don’t think so. I say it stand for “Hurts like Hell” when it smacks you in the foot full force.

My foot throbbed for about 20 minutes and then it went numb.

I figure if you’re going to get hit with a pitch you want it to be in the meaty part of your body. On most people there’s no meat on top of your foot. This type of BP injury was a first for me and hopefully the last. I’ve got almost two weeks to heal up.

After BP we went over to the Rockies side and tried to get some autographs.

Unfortunately were kind of late and were standing in the wrong place for Todd Helton.

Glenallen Hill and Jeff Francis. Hill is looking at me like he remembers me from Spring Training. My favorite line from Hill in Tucson was “What you guys do with all those autographs?” Hurdle and Francis

Francis gets the first pitch duties on a regular basis.

That is one happy kid. Everybody was happy, at least before the game started. Marquis warming up before the game.Best haircut of the game. In case you’ve never seen one, this particular hairstyle is know as a Mullet. Very popular in the 80’s but now is usually only found in the deep south.

Southerners do travel and when I get a chance to photograph a rare haircut like this I just cant resist.

This ones a beauty :)

The Mullet… business in the front, party in the back. Marquis first pitch. His second pitch.

Tulo Ian Stewart had a Grand Slam yesterday and another homer today. Brad Hawpe tracking a baseball. Another Todd Helton at bat. Spilborghs getting ready. Helton out at first. Garrett Atkins proving that white men can jump. Tulo in action. Atkins ready to go.First off if you’re brave/man enough to wear a pink shirt, your picture makes this blog. But the fact he was standing there talking to Bill Gates, well that’s seriously blog worthy.

Although wouldn’t you think Bill Gates would at least sit Club level?

Don’t you think the sweatshirt over the shoulders is a nice touch?

A shot of Dan, Emily and Ryan in the pavilion from my “chosen” seats which were along the first base line.

Dan’s daughter Emily was interviewed on Thursday’s game by Fox News and by Mark Stout of FSN.

I’ll post or link some video when I have it. That should be really cool.

The combination of having to work early the next day, my foot hurting like nobody’s business and the Rockies getting pummelled at home was enough to make me want to go home. So we did.

I went home and put my foot up. No DL list for me, I’ll be ready by next homestand. Unless I broke a bone and then I’ll be there in a cast.

Final Score Astros 15, Rockies 11.

Coors Field Crack of the Game

Sorry it’s a little blurry, I was laughing🙂

RPR’s Hagg’n Points for this Game

1 Point- For showing up.

15 points- For catching 5 balls on the fly.

2 points- For a toss up from Ubaldo Jimenez.

Total = 18 points

Hunters Hagg’n Points for this Game

1 point- For showing up

3 points- For snagging a ball on the bounce off of my size 12 shoe.

Total = 4 points

My next Rockies home game is Tuesday the 26th. Gotta give some props to my Denver Nuggets. I believed at the beginning of the season when everyone thought I was crazy. I’ve been somewhat silent about their success of late because I didn’t want to jinx anything.

This is the team, this is the Nuggets year, The Lakers are beatable and the Nuggets will do it…D Dont miss my next entry when I talk about how Coors Field Ushers are now required to fondle your peanuts…I’m serious…D

I always wanted to catch the introduction of the Rockies players on video and today I did.

Batting practice was OK but I was totally shutout. It still happens once in a while but not so often anymore. I just can’t bring myself to ask a player for a baseball. I love catching or racing up five row of bleachers to beat someone to a ball that has taken a bounce.

It’s all about the chase for me. There’s no chase/play involved when you ask a player for a baseball. Props to those who can do it I’m not knocking you. I just can’t do it.

I had a little bit of play today but everytime I would track a ball and almost get to it, somebody was in my way and I had to let the ball go.

The best batting practices are during the week when the pavilion is less crowded. My friend Emily an MLBlogger who writes the Rockies blog “I live for this” was at batting practice with her friend.

Hunter managed to snag two baseballs today. The first one was a toss up from Manny Corpas.

It was an 2008 All-Star ball and the first one he’s ever snagged.

I’ve yet to get an All-Star ball.

Manny tossed one to Hunter on Friday too. Hunter had another opportunity when the Rockies finished batting practice.

Manny tossed the last ball to Hunter and Hunter didn’t expect it and it hit him just below his neck in his chest.

The ball rolled to the right and some lady kept it for her kid.

Personally any kid that gets hit with a ball like Hunter did should have been given that ball. But like you’ve heard me say here before “Some people don’t get it”.

She doesn’t get it and neither did my boy. No worries, Hunter was ok and already had a ball. After the Marlins BP we went around to the Rockies dugout to see what was up.

When Brad Hawpe finished warming up he headed back to the dugout and on his way tossed Hunter his second ball of the day.

Thank you Brad !

Jorge De La Rosa copping a squat before the game. Jim Tracy and Alana Helton taking a stretch. Ian Stewart doing the same. Seth SmithThere was a moment of silence for two members of Event Services Staff that had passed away. That was a nice way to pay respect I thought.BBCHICK asked if I would get some pictures of the High School band performing the national anthem as she some friends who are in the band. I actually shot video of it

Here’s Jeff Francis doing some more public relations work to keep busy. Then Francis and Dinger head back to who knows where?

Bob, Yorvit and Jorge doing the walk.Clint Hurdle was out signing autographs today. A few others did but not many. Spilborghs was out there for a good ten minutes signing today. Jorge De La Rosa is pitching decent I’d say despite his lack of wins. Jorge pitched for 8 innings and had 12 strikeouts. Jorge is (0-3) for the season. Garrett Atkins went 0-3 and is really struggling only batting .218. It will be nice when he finds his groove cause Atkins can hit. Tulowitzki homered in the first inning and went two of four for the day. Troy was replaced in the ninth inning because of a slight strain on his quadricep. The same one he injured last season…I don’t even want to think about Tulo going on the DL right now.

Take it easy Tulo..Heal up that quad brotha

Torrealba broken bat. I believe if I had to I could kill dinner for my family with that weapon. I call this picture “Floating Bat Boy Broken Bat”🙂 Jorge at bat. Jorge and Tulo Jorge on display Don Baylor Torrealba and Baylor Tulowitzki about to throw Dexter Fowler at bat Dexter Fowler swingin. Hawpe and Atkins Matt Murton I call this picture “Tulo’s invisible bat” Hunter chillin Jason Grilli was up on the mound after De La Rosa. Jason keeping a close eye on first base A quick chat Hawpe letting one go by. Barmes and Hill

Look up A shot of the final score. RPR’s Hagg’n stats for this game

Attendance 28,227

1 point- Showing up for the game.

1 point –Staying until the end of the game and getting a picture of the final score.

Monday’s game was straight up cold. I was hoping for batting practice but the field was empty other than a few Padres playing catch and doing sprints.

While I was standing there thinking about what I should do next I ran into Joy aka LUVMYROXX and her husband Jim.

This time I was able to take a picture and talk for a little bit.

Really nice folks and it was an honor to meet you both.

Thanks Joy for reading the Rant and being a regular commentor.

I have to say anyone brave enough to attend Monday’s game is a hardcore Rockies fan because it was quite nipply.

It was seriously overcast, the temperature was in the 40’s and a cold gusty wind was hitting us at times.

Great snowbarding weather but it can make watching a baseball game live a bit uncomfortable, especially when those wind gusts hit…brrrr So after saying hey to some of the fellas in the first row I grabbed my backpack and headed over to the Rockies dugout to see what I could see.

When I arrived I saw Huston Street walking back to the dugout and before I could even ask he walked over to sign for a small group of fans. I quickly dug out a baseball and slipped into the group.

One thing I have noticed is that if you just hand a player a baseball they will usually not sign on the sweet spot. For me this is true 9 out of 10 times. Robert has been giving me sheet about not asking them to sign on the sweet spot.

He told me “just ask them to sign it on the sweet spot, they will”. So today I tried it.

I handed Huston Street the pen and baseball and asked “Huston will you please sign my ball on the sweet spot?”.

<——He looked at me with this look and said, “No, I’m not going to do that, you get it where you get it.

I about crapped my pants. You see the first time I ask I get slammed hard.

Naa I’m totally kidding, Huston Street is a great guy and will sign for anyone.

Here’s why it’s hard for me a to ask a player to sign on the sweet spot. I feel fortunate to just be getting a players autograph, so to be specific on what I want seems a tad rude.

But in reality unless it’s a World Series ball it needs to be signed on the sweet spot.

Its the perfect place for it….See what I mean. Thank you Huston !

With luck like this in the first few minutes I figured I’d stay put there and see what unfolds.

So from a Hagger’s point of view the cold dreary day was getting better🙂

Robert came over and was demonstrating to me the fine art of removing the word “PRACTICE” from a baseball.

It requires some very light sanding with fine sandpaper and then hitting it with a white eraser.

Neat stuff. Always pay attention to your elders, they are full of usefull information.

I knew the next player to come out would be Chris Iannetta.

I hopped in line and he signed the baseball Robert was fixing up for me.

I used a batting practice ball because Chris was signing in sharpie and I decided to work on a Team signed baseball mostly because I had only brought one new baseball and one used one.

Huston Street had autographed my new baseball so the only ball I had left was the one Robert fixed up for me.

The next guy out of the dugout was Bob Apodaca.

Bob looked like he was on a mission but when the older fella standing beside me called out his name Bob turned and walked over and started chatting and signing.

When Todd finished warming up he walked almost all the way to the dugout then he turned turned and walked over to my group.

I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never been able to get Todd’s autograph at Coors Field before and here he was two feet from me.

It was at that point I really wished I had a new baseball for him to sign. Oh well my team baseball was starting to look pretty good now especially with this this guys autograph on it :) Look at the menacing sky in the background. My team ball is getting some character now.

As Clint Barmes was walking off the field he stopped and spent a few minutes signing for everyone.

Here he is signing my team ball–>

When he looked up at me I said, “Clint you tossed me the first batting practice ball of spring training this year”. He looked up at me and said “Yeah I remember you”.

Clint brotha, you don’t know how cool it was to hear you say that.

I’ve always liked Clint Barmes but now not only will the Rant be extra pro-Helton but it will be extra pro-Barmes. I take special notice when someone takes notice/remembers me.

Thanks for the autograph Clint. Good luck this season, the Rant has got your back.

I managed to get one more autograph but not a picture. Ryan Spilborghs signed the team baseball underneath Clint Barmes.

Spilly was working his way down the line signing with this head down and just before he got to me the guy beside me mentioned something about Robert catching his home run ball the night before.

I then asked Spilly if he had watched the video of it. Spilly said “Yeah I looked at it”. Then I said that I was the guy right behind Robert chasing it. He still didn’t look up. When he got to me he took my baseball, signed it, handed it back to me, stopped slowly, raised his head enough to see my face and acknowledge it, then he moved on down the line.

It wasn’t scary, but it wasn’t a “Cool man, better luck next time” kind of glance either. No worries Spilly, I’m a big fan and I’m glad you’re a part of this team.

We know a lot of the same people so I hope you get used to my face brotha :)

Some notes on this game. Dexter Fowler is amazingly fast.He stole five of the eight bases that were stolen in this game.

Tulo was benched?

Rockies get the win over the Padres 12-7.

I didn’t make it much past the fifth inning. I was cold tired, and had to get up for work at 3am. Had I stayed I’d have been in position to snag a ground rule double.

Let me just say that is not the first time that has happened to me and will surely not be the last. I think of it as the ghosts of baseball past teasing me for leaving my seat or going home early.

It will someday happen to you if you attend enough games. Eventually you’ll need to eat, drink or pee Precicly at the point that you cannot see your seat is when the baseball will land in your area.

I know I didn’t get the ball but at least I didn’t look like a chump my first time on TV🙂

Today I was the first in line at the Rockpile gate and things were as they should be in Rockie land.

First in line at the gate puts me first into the Pavilion. When the batting cages are out it gives me an extra few minutes before the place starts to crawl with people.

As you can tell from this picture, first didn’t mean much today. No cages = No batting practice

Here is a shot of Dan and Robert politely discussing one of yesterday’s batting practice snags🙂

Something about somebody stepping on somebody’s foot if I remember correctly? 🙂

I was lucky again today and Dan hooked me up with a Row 1 ticket. This enabled me to go onto the field during the autograph session. I’ve never done this before and let me tell you it was beyond cool.

Check out the video of me entering the field:

I love this picture of the field this is from the roped off dirt area we were in behind home plate. Here’s one with me in it.

I managed to get four autographs today.

On the left is Jason Hammel and on the right is Ryan Speier.

Manny Corpas came out and signed for a few people then split.

Ubaldo Jimenez also came out and signed for the whole group.

I skipped Ubaldo because I have him already. I was able to give him a knuckle bump and wish him good luck this year. Nice guy.

The other two autographs I snagged were Franklin Morales and Jason Grilli. I got to see Todd Helton and Tulo, they popped out to say hi to a few kids and take some pictures.

Ubaldo took a few pictures before he signed autographs.

Here is Jason Hammel coming up to sign for us.

Looks like Jason will get his first start for the Rockies on Monday’s game against the Padres.

Good luck Jason!

Here’s what the Rockpile looks like essentially from where the batter stands. Here is Jason Grilli signing my baseball, check out the lady in the background🙂

Todd Helton making one lucky kids year. Manual Corpas signing the baseball of the little boy next to me Here is the video of me leaving the field and walking back inside of Coors Field.

In the video below Robert and I were almost to the Pavilion when I heard someone call out “Rockpile Ranter”. That someone was Missy from “View from the Rockpile”.

Missy is an Usher at Coors Field and was on her way to Gate E when we ran into her. This was the first time her and I have met and it was really cool to finally run into her at a game.

Back in the Pavilion. Here was the view to the right of my seat. Thank you Dan! A shot of the field from my seats Dan’s daughter Emily playing kickball with Dinger

A little Rockie history for you. Here are a few of the Rockies warming-upChris Iannetta signs before every game. Rumor has it he does it because he’s superstitious. Superstitious or not he’s a good guy and I believe he’d sign anyway. He signs for about 5 minutes then goes over to stretch and work out. Spilly and Hawpe Jeff Baker and Brad HawpeKrista made me put in this picture. She said it summed up the Dodgers lack of excitement in this game. I just don’t get it?? Captain Earthman, business as usual entertaining the massesTulowitzki I call this picture…”Brat with a view” I really like our new pitcher Marquis, the guy has been a superstar for us. This game was just what I and all Rockies fans needed.

An in your face, blue bashing, get out of town, you got lucky on the last one, Rockies win.

I especially love beating the Dodgers.

Days like today are special. How often does a person get to go underneath Coors Field, then stand on the field and get autographs? I’m glad I could share some of it with you.

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